Henry Henshaw
History Origin His human body died after body was infused with cosmic radiation and became an Energy Consciousness that integrated itself in Superman's DNA Birthing Matrix and created a cyborg body from its knowledge. He is a villain to both Superman and Hal Jordan. Flight of Excalibur Henry "Hank" Henshaw, primarly known as the Cyborg-SuperMan, first appeared as a crew member of the doomed LexCorp space shuttle Excalibur. Hank and the other three members of the Excalibur crew (including his wife, Terri) were exposed to cosmic radiation, resulting in the crash of their shuttle. As a result of the radiation exposure, the human bodies of two crew members were destroyed. However, their minds survived and they were able to construct new bodies out of pure cosmic radiation and bits of earth and the shuttle (homages to the Human Torch and the Thing, respectively). Initially, Henshaw and his wife suffered no ill effects from the radiation and the crew traveled to Metropolis, in the hope of using LexCorp facilities to cure their transformed crew mates. During a brief battle with Superman, the crew member now composed of radiation became unhinged and flew into the sun. By this time, Henshaw's body had begun to rapidly decay while his wife was beginning to phase into an alternate dimension. With Superman's help, Henshaw was able to use the LexCorp facilities to save Terri, but died immediately afterwards. The remaining member of the shuttle crew committed suicide using an MRI booth. However, Hank Henshaw had not truly died. Though his physical body had expired, he was able to transfer his consciousness into the LexCorp's mainframe. Now able to control technology, Henshaw appeared to his wife in a robotic body; the shock of the shuttle accident, Henshaw's death and his bizarre rebirth was too much for Terri and eventually led to her insanity and death. By this point, Henshaw's electronic consciousness had begun to disrupt Earth's communications networks. Using NASA communications equipment, Henshaw beamed his mind into the 'birthing Matrix' which had carried Superman from Krypton to Earth as an infant. Henshaw crafted a small exploration craft from the birthing matrix and departed the planet. Henshaw spent some time traveling between planets; bonding with local lifeforms to learn about the culture and history of various worlds. Over time, Henshaw became delusional and paranoid, believing that Superman had caused the deaths of himself and his wife, then driven him from the Earth. Arriving on a planet controlled by alien overlord (and Superman nemesis) Mongul I, Henshaw learned of the Warworld and forcibly recruited Mongul as part of a plan for revenge against Superman. Reign of the Supermen: The Man of Tomorrow With Superman dead after his battle with Doomsday, Henshaw was unable to directly seek revenge against the man he had come to perceive as his enemy and instead sought to destroy Superman's reputation. To that end, the Cyborg claimed to be Superman reborn; using knowledge obtained from the birthing matrix to construct a cybernetic body with organic portions genetically identical to Superman and technological components built with Kryptonian alloys. Along with destroying a Superman memorial plaque in front of the Daily Planet, the Cyborg exiled Doomsday into space and defended the President of the United States from an assassination attempt. As a result of the latter incident, the White House endorsed the Cyborg as the 'true' Superman and he provided the President with a communications device. When confronted by Lois Lane, the Cyborg claimed his memory was "blurry" but he could see a "spaceship on a farm. The name 'Kent'", suggesting Henshaw may be aware of Superman's secret identity. Henshaw's arrival as Superman was simultaneous with three others: John Henry Irons, the self-styled Last Son of Krypton, and the modern Superboy. Betrayal/The Destruction of Coast City When an alien ship appeared over Coast City, the Cyborg revealed his true intentions, attacking and severely injuring the Eradicator as Mongul I's craft destroyed the city, killing millions. The Cyborg was then able to convince the White House and the public that the Eradicator had been responsible for the destruction of Coast City, turning the public against the Kryptonian. He also came within a hairsbreadth of killing the Eradicator in direct combat. After tricking and defeating Superboy, Henshaw set about preparing to launch a warhead that would convert Metropolis into a second Engine City. However, Superboy was able to escape and warn the resurrected true Superman, John Henry Irons and Supergirl of the Cyborg's plans. The quartet traveled to the site of the former Coast City where Superman, Supergirl and Steel confronted Mongul and the Cyborg while Superboy stopped the missile from destroying Metropolis. While Green-Lantern defeated Mongul, the Cyborg lured Superman and the Eradicator to the Engine City main reactor and attempted to kill Superman with the kryptonite that powered the engine. Henshaw attempted to kill Superman using a concentrated blast of kryptonite radiation, but the Eradicator intercepted the blast at the expense of his own life. However, as the Kryptonite energy passed through the Eradicator, the radiation was altered and acted to restore Superman's powers. Superman was then able to easily defeat the Cyborg (partially due to the kryptonite weakening the Cyborg's Kryptonian form) by vibrating Henshaw's body to pieces. Cyborg Returns Before exiling Doomsday into space, Henshaw had installed a device on the monster to allow him to detect if Doomsday were to ever escape. After the destruction of his 'Cyborg Superman' body, Henshaw transferred his consciousness into this device, as Doomsday was "the safest place in the galaxy" for the Cyborg to hide. Doomsday was eventually brought on board a space cruiser and managed to escape, landing on Apokolips. Henshaw re-emerged once again, reconfiguring an exo armored Apokoliptian trooper into a new body, establishing his standard appearance with long hair and red armor, and began to lay siege to Apokolips alongside Doomsday (although the Henshaw's body possessed Superman's Kryptonian DNA, Doomsday did not seem to perceive the Cyborg as a threat). The Cyborg successfully took over most of Apokolips, but was destroyed by Omega Beams after a short battle with Superman. Apokolips and Beyond Darkseid's attack did not kill the Cyborg; rather, the Omega Effect had stored Henshaw's consciousness in a small orb, with Darkseid planning to use the Cyborg against Superman at a later date. Darkseid eventually freed Henshaw, with the understanding that Henshaw was to leave Apokolips and never return. The Cyborg eventually aligned himself with an intergalactic 'tribunal', which was seeking to bring Superman to trial for the crimes of his ancestors. Henshaw assisted the tribunal in capturing Superboy, Supergirl, Steel and Alpha Centurion, who had been preparing to rescue Superman. However, the Cyborg betrayed the tribunal and attempted to conquer their planet for conversion into a new Warworld. Superman and his allies stopped the Cyborg's plan and, when Henshaw's involvement in the destruction of Coast City was brought to the attention of the tribunal, they found the Cyborg guilty of genocide and sentenced him to death. As an electronic consciousness, Henshaw could not be killed by normal means and was transported beyond the event horizon of a black hole, where not even energy could escape from the gravity. The Cyborg would encounter [[Hal Jordan], at the very brim of the Godwave, a nexus of statues that flow forth energy vital to the preservation of the Fourth World. Parallax used his powers to generate representations of the victims of Coast City, who tore the Cyborg's body apart. Jordan than dispersed Henshaw's consciousness into the Godwave and the Cyborg was once again seemingly destroyed. During a crisis involving the Godwave, Superman (wearing at the time his "Blue Energy Costume" traveled to New Genesis, and encountered Henshaw again, Henshaw had become part of the Godwave's structure and had crafted a small world comprised of his memories, which he used to taunt Superman, after seemingly being defeated. However, unknown to Superman, the Cyborg stored his own consciousness in Superman's technological containment suit. After Superman returned to Earth, Henshaw escaped and eventually constructed a new body, posing as a substitute high school teacher in an attempt to become human again (even managing to convince Asbury Armstrong that he possessed some goodness). However, in a fit of rage, Henshaw revealed his true identity as the Cyborg and this body was destroyed in a short fight with Superman. To escape detection, Henshaw stored his consciousness in a toy. This toy was later stolen by the Toyman, leading the two villains to join forces to kill Superman. To this end, the Cyborg designed a machine that would break Superman's energy form down into multiple components and beam them to different points in the galaxy, preventing Superman from reforming. A malfunction in the machine caused Superman to split into Superman Blue and Superman Red, the latter of whom eventually defeated and captured the Cyborg. He later attempted to take over Kandor, but this failed when he was defeated by Superman and sent to the Phantom Zone. Shortly after Y2K, Henshaw escaped the Phantom Zone and attacked Superman, who was suffering from Kryptonite poisoning at the time. He was defeated with the help of the Kandorians and sent back to the Phantom Zone, swearing revenge. However, he somehow escapes the Phantom Zone yet again, but is captured and subjected by the Elite. Henshaw is then merged with the Elite's ship, the Bunny. However when Superman come's aboard the ship Henshaw attacks him with the ship's weapons. In the end, Superman destroys the ship with Henshaw crashing down into the sea still bonded to the ship. Manhunters/Revenge of The Green Lanterns Henshaw eventually made his way to Sector 3601, to Biot, the homeworld of the Manhunters. He gathered many Green-Lanterns who were previously thought to be dead, including Arisia, Kreon, Ke'Haan, Boodikka, Laira, and Chaselon, and used them as power sources for his new model of Manhunters, the Highmasters. However, Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner discovered his operation. Jordan and Arisia combined the might of their power rings with one of the Highmasters, destroying the organic portion of Henshaw's body and most of Biot. The Guardians of the Universe believed that, during Henshaw's time in Sector 3601, he may have discovered one of their closely guarded secrets: the existence of the Multiverse. Sinestro Corps War Henshaw remained in custody on Oa until he was freed, along with Superboy-Prime]], by a strike force of Sinestro Corps members. He was brought to Qward, where he was made into a herald of the Anti-Monitor, along with Superboy and the Parallax-possessed Kyle Rayner. Not soon after, Henshaw reveals the only reason he has joined, the Anti-Monitor is that he has been promised to a final death at the hands of the Anti-Monitor as a reward for helping the Anti-Monitor achieve his goals. A death he has longed for that none even Superman can seem to give him. Henshaw and his Manhunters head to Earth to assist the Sinestro Corps in their attack. En route, Henshaw stops leading the Manhunters, which continue to their preprogrammed destinations. As he watches them go, he remembers everything that has happened to him; from their dreadful shuttle accident to his wife's suicide when she sees him in his robot form. He finishes this journey of his mind by going to his wife's grave. He digs her corpse out and rips it into two, shouting that all he wants is not to be with her, but for these memories to fade. Meanwhile, Manhunters begin an assault on the JLA satellite. HawkGirl, Black-Lightning, and Red Arrow retaliate; however, all three are neutralized when Henshaw assists in the attack and he successfully tampers with the mechanics of the satellite core. As the satellite is thrown out of orbit, Superman appears, seemingly from nowhere, and engages Henshaw in battle. Their fight continues on Earth, while Sinestro transports his crew and his ship from the Warworld. At first Superman seems to have the upper hand, however after two punches, Henshaw strikes with great power and rage, punching him through the Statue of Liberty. By the end, Henshaw has Superman in a choke hold, thinking that the victory is near. However, Superman was not alone. Power Girl and Supergirl came to Superman's aide, and managed to defeat the Cyborg Superman, later throwing him at Superboy-Prime. He commented that they almost managed to kill him that time. When the Green Lantern Corps decides to detonate New Warworld and the Qwardian Central Power Battery of the Sinestro Corps to destroy the Anti-Monitor, Henshaw is trapped behind a shield and exposed to the massive explosion. Before he is finally killed, however, he is able to thank the Green-Lantern Corps for their mercy in ending his life. A small fraction of Henshaw's corpse was found after the explosion. The Manhunters confirmed that he had perished, but were confused without his leadership. Seeking the leadership "programming" of their grandmaster, the Manhunters funnel a massive amount of energy into the Cyborg Superman, and he experiences yet another resurrection, crying when he realizes he is alive yet again. The Brightest Day Upon learning he was once again alive, Henshaw was enraged at the action of the Manhunters who had desired the return of their Grandmaster. His rage led to him deactivating the androids and leaving them lifeless in space and he felt despair at having achieved his goal only to have it ripped away from him. He thus wandered space aimlessly and unwittingly stumbled on Earth during The Blackest Night where he went into Coast City. There he saw the dead rise as members of the Black-Lantern Corps including his wife Terri. However, when he tried to speak to her, she ignored him and simply wandered to the Black-Lantern Central Power Battery. Curious, Henshaw followed and there he met what he believed was the Grim Reaper himself; Nekron the Lord of the Unliving. Seeing a chance to get his wish, he demanded Nekron to give him the embrace of death and even attacked the powerful cosmic being to no effect. Instead, Nekron simply ignored him just as his Black Lanterns did so and it was only then that the cyborg learnt why this was the case. The Black Lanterns desired the hearts of the living and he had no heart within him anymore. Despair and sadness filled Henshaw as he knew that this was the coming of the end of days where all life would be extinguished and he would remain living till the end of time. Returning to space, he decided to reactivate the Manhunters to keep him company and it was there he met a mysterious cloaked being who offered him salvation. In exchange for the Manhunters service, the being told the Cyborg Superman of the Alpha Lantern Corps that would be the key to all his desires. The Cyborg Superman agreed and was glad to be rid of the Manhunters whilst he set about his new objective of subverting the Alpha Lanterns. The mysterious being that had given the Cyborg Superman this information highlighted the fact that the Guardian Ganthet held the knowledge he needed. Thus, he began subtlely altering the programming of the Alpha Lanterns and made himself known as Alpha Prime to them. To control his operations, he moved to the planet Grenda where he used his mastery over machines to keep its inhabitants silent in the caverns below. He also had his Alpha Lanterns that followed him create Sector House Prime as their base of operations. Whilst doing this, he questioned them why they gave up their lives to become unliving machines - a question he did not get answered. His actions did not attract Ganthet's attentions so he began using his Alpha Lanterns to forcibly recruit Green Lanterns into their ranks. This also failed to gather Ganthet's notice but when the Guardians of Oa lost contact with Stel after he was sent to investigate his homeworld - they sent Boodikka along with John Stewart to investigate. As they arrived on the planet, Boodikka attacked Stewart and delivered the unconscious Lantern to Hank Henshaw who revealed his identity as the mastermind behind the Alpha Lantern's revolt. He intended to perform cosmic surgery to forcibly transform Stewart into an Alpha Lantern in order to bring Ganthet to Grenda. Whilst doing so, he explained what had happened after the Sinestro Corps War and his desire not to be a monster but simply wanting to end his existence. Later, Kyle Rayner along with Soranik Natu and Ganthet came to Grenda to rescue Stewart where the former Guardian battled the Cyborg Superman. However, Henshaw used his energy draining abilities to strip Ganthet's Power Ring of its energy. He revealed that he intended to use the Oans' knowledge to achieve his goal and if he refused then he would turn him into an Alpha Lantern. At that point, he realized that John Stewart was missing - Ganthet's attack had distracted Henshaw long enough for Rayner to rescue his comrade. With Ganthet captive, he threatened to kill the Alpha Lanterns one by one if he didn't comply, ordering one to blow its own head off. Ganthet agrees hastily after initial hesitation, though the Cyborg lets the Alpha kill itself regardless so Ganthet will not hesitate again. He forces Ganthet to try and turn an Alpha back into a regular being with the intent of having Ganthet do the same for him, so that he can be normal and thus be able to die. Ganthet fails with the first, and Henshaw kills the Alpha in frustration, demanding that Ganthet not fail with the next. Upon Ganthet feeling pain, Henshaw coldly tells the immortal that it's grief. Upon Ganthet's success at removing the Battery of Alpha Lantern Horoq Nnot, the Cyborg became excited, until an earthquake interrupted his rapture, and he and the Alpha Lanterns move outside to see a billion Grendands bearing down in a great tidal wave upon them. Henshaw manages to stop them with his mind, but is incinerated by the combined forces of the Green Lanterns. Unfortunately, his electronic essence automatically uploaded itself into Lantern Boodika's power battery, and he attempted to possess her body. To Henshaw's horror, Boodika's will manifested itself to oppose him, and after a short battle, cleaved him in half, apparently destroying him for good. Reign of Doomsday ﻿After being beaten and crash landing on the JLA satellite by Doomsday, a voice reveals why the Armageddon Creature attacked Boodikka and ignoring the likes of Supergirl and the others as he starts to reform himself out of the Alpha Lantern: Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman. Category:Yellow-Lantern Corps (Satanic-Horde) Category:Green-Lantern Corps (Satanic-Horde) Category:DC people